Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: River's exploration tale
by Holy Writer
Summary: A human named River has turned into a Riolu and a Vulpix wishes to become part of an exploration team. Later on they meet a Sentret and he joins their group. Together, they become known as team Breaker. Join them as they explore along with meeting new friends left and right. They must all unite together if they want to defeat the cause of all the destruction in the pokemon world.
1. Chapter 1

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: River's Exploration Tale

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Author's notes and disclaimers: I don't own Pokemon whatsoever in the sort. I can't remember the name of the one who created pokemon, but he's awesome for creating one of the most popular things ever. This story is gonna be like explorers of sky and blue rescue team mixed up a little bit (you'll see what I mean later on). Forgive me if the first chapter is boring it'll be much better in the second chapter. But for now, enjoy my pokemon story.

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CH. 1: The beginning of the adventure of a life time.

"_Where am I? It's so dark, I can't see anything, what's going on? Hold on… I think I see a bright light, I can't see it that well it's small. Wait, that light is starting to become bigger and brighter. It's so warm. Hey, I hear a voice, is it saying my name?... I can't hear it that well. Oooooooooh the light is getting brighter, but at the same time it's making me feel sleepy. No, I can't…... ungh"_

*FLASH*

"_Nnnnnnnnnnngh."_ said a pokemon who was woken up from a flash of light that just occurred. _"Where did that light come from?"_ The pokemon got up from bed and looked out the window. _"It's still nighttime, what the heck."_ The pokemon who was confused at the moment thought about what that flash was. After a few minutes of thinking, the pokemon thought that it came from a dream. _"It was probably just from a dream that caused me to wake up. Get yourself together Ember you're just imagining things such as that could be a fire stone that just appeared and it was sent there so I could evelove from a vulpix to a ninetails."_ The vulpix then curled itself in bed trying to go back to sleep. After a little bit of waiting the vulpix finally dozed off and was out.

Meanwhile on the beach (still nighttime)

"_Where am I? I feel like I'm laying down on sand with a cool breeze. I thought I was in bed with a storm raging on? I must… get up. No… I can't, dozing…. off."_ And after that last thought, the unknown visitor was out like a light.

The Next Morning

The sun was shining bright when morning came.

"Hey Ember, it's time to get up." said a female ninetails.

"Nnnnnnngh, just five more minutes sis, I wanna sleep in a little today." said the sleeping vulpix named Ember. The ninetails looked at her younger sister with a face of anger. The ninetails then got close to the sleeping vulpix's ear and whispered

"Don't make me get big brother Guren in here and make him wake you up.' said The ninetails slyly.

"I'M UP, JUST DON'T BRING BIG BROTHER GUREN IN HERE." yelled a scared stiff vulpix who just woke up. The vulpix looked around the room and saw that her sister laughing up a storm.

"HAHAHAHA, don't worry Ember, Guren has left a little while ago. But still, I can't believe you fear big brother Guren that much." said the laughing ninetails.

"Hey knock it off Blaze, you know that since Guren is a houndoom he can easily scare me since he's a dark type." said an angry vulpix. The ninetails named Blaze stopped laughing after a few minutes later and finally said

"I'm sorry Ember, it's just that me and Guren are gonna be gone all day today and I didn't want you to worry over where we are."

"That's fine then, you're forgiven." said Ember sighing. She then looked at her sister trying to hide her sadness and said while trying to force a smile. "It sucks that me, you, and big brother Guren haven't had as much time to ourselves to play with each other for a long while now."

"Well that's because your brother and I both became members of our own exploration teams." said Blaze "It would be nice for all three of us to play together again like before since it has been so long since we last all played, but now that Guren and I have been working more often lately it's been difficult to play like old times. Truth is I miss those times where we could all play every day."

"Me to." said Ember sadly. "I believe the last time all three of us played together by ourselves was nearly 3 months ago, and that was on my 16th birthday. And now it's rare when we do all play together."

"Well I wanna play together with you as well but, I have a job to do to explore to new places and rescue pokemon in need." explained Blaze who was preparing to leave. "Didn't you have a dream of becoming part of your very own exploration team?" Blaze asked Ember.

"Yeah, I do have my own dream of becoming a member of my own exploration team." began Ember. "It's just that, none of my friends have an interest in becoming a part of an exploration team and I don't want to become part of an exploration on my own, I'll be lonely." Ember sat by the window looking out the window with a sad face. Blaze went over to her lonely little sister and leaned on her a little bit trying to comfort her. She hugged Ember by wrapping her nine tails around the vulpix.

"I'm sure you'll find someone who'll want to be on the same team as you." said Blaze in a warm tone that made Ember feel better a little bit.

"Yeah, same here." said Ember. Blaze then packed her things in her travel bag and waved a paw to Ember saying goodbye. Ember waved a paw back and watched her older sister walk away to her exploration rescue team group. After eating breakfast Ember walked outside and walked to the beach to relax for a little bit. When she got to the beach Ember noticed a bunch of Dewgongs swimming around firing Aurora beams that weren't on full power making a show of rainbow shots across the water. With so many aurora beams going on, it was like the entire ocean was the rainbow itself.

"_It's very pretty." _said Ember in her mind "_I always came here with big sis Blaze and big bro Guren. This was our own little playground. When we got tired in the afternoon we would watch the Dewgongs swim around and make such a pretty sight for all pokemon passing through." _Ember watched the Dewgongs while thinking of happy times. After a little bit of watvhing the Dewgongs, Ember was getting up to leave and get together with some of her friends. Before Ember could take even one step, she saw something on the other side of the beach. "_Huh? What's that over there?" _Ember walked over to the thing she saw. She eventually got a clear view of what she saw earlier. "_OH MY GOD, that's a pokemon who looks like he's injured." _Ember then went into a full blown sprint to the unconscious pokemon. "Hey, are you alright?" asked a worried Ember to the sleeping pokemon that was a Riolu.

"Nnnnnngh" said the sleeping Riolu "_Whose voice is that? Was it the same one I heard earlier? No, this one is different. Who is it that's calling to me?" _The Riolu then slowly opened its eyes to see something he's never seen before.

"Oh thank god you're ok. I was so worried when I found you here on this beach. Anyway my name is-… Huh?" Ember was about to introduce herself when she noticed the Riolu staring at her with an odd look.

"What are you?" asked the Riolu

"My name is Ember, I'm a Vulpix." said Ember

"A Vulpix? I've never heard of a Vulpix before. Are you some kind of alien from outer space." said the confused Riolu. Ember just looked at the pokemon in confusion and said

"I'm not an alien or whatever that is, I'm a pokemon just like you are." began Ember "If I'm not mistaken you're a Riolu correct?" The Riolu just stared wide eyed at Ember trying to comprehend what she just said. He then looked at his hands and feet.

"_These aren't my hands or feet." _The Riolu then felt something unusual behind him. He looked behind him and saw a blue tail behind him. "_Since when did I have one of these?"_ The Riolu then ran straight to the ocean and looked at his reflection. _"What the heck is going on? I have floppy ears, two little bumps on my head, and I sort of have a snout. And I my eyes are different color. Just what happened?" _

"Are you alright?" asked Ember who was watching the Riolu in confusion. The Riolu looked at Ember and said

"No, I'm not alright. For starters, how am I this thing called a Riolu?" asked the freaked out Riolu

"Ok ok calm down." said Ember "If you say you aren't a Riolu at all then what are you then?"

"I'm a human." said the Riolu

"I've never heard of anything called a human before." said Ember. She then thought for a minute. _"For some reason this Riolu doesn't seem like the lying type at all judging from the look on his face." _The Riolu then calmed down a little bit as he asked

"You don't believe-"

"Oh I believe you." said Ember interrupting the Riolu. The Riolu was confused.

"Huh?" said the Riolu

"You just have a look on your face that says you're telling the truth." said Ember. The Riolu was confused when he heard that but decided to go with it. "Do you have a name?" Ember asked

"My name is River." said the Riolu.

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Ta-da here's chapter 1 of my pokemon mystery dungeon story. I hope you all like it. Just to let you know the main protagonist is the Riolu not the Vulpix (Most likely you all knew that, I was just letting you know just in case you were wondering). I know he's arrived a little late, but in the actual game he always arrives late. Anyway please review my pokemon story so I'll know what you all think of it. It's Understandable if Ch. 1 is boring to most of you. But that's how most introductions are. Please Review and this is the Holy Writer signing out.


	2. Chapter 2

Pokemon CH. 2: Introductions

"Your name is River?" asked Ember. "River as in a name for a body of water?"

"Yes that is correct." said the Riolu named River.

"That's a weird name for someone." said Ember. "I'm not trying to be mean at all I'm sorry if I offended you."

"Calm down." said River. "You were just saying your opinion that's all. As long as you were nice about it then I have zero complaints. And yes I know my name is a little weird. But that's why I like my name."

"Well it's cool that you like your name." said Ember. "My name isn't really my favorite but it's not horrible."

"That's good to hear." said River. "Anyway, you said I'm something called a Riolu correct?"

"Yes that's right." said Ember. "And I'm a Vulpix."

"So are there other types of … Pokemon was it called?" asked River.

"Yes there is." said Ember. "There are over 600 hundred different types of pokemon." River went wide eyed when he heard that. "Don't worry, I'm going to name all of them one by one, that would take forever." River sighed a breath of relief when he heard that. "You'll most likely see almost all of them after a while."

"Gotcha then." said River.

"How did you become a pokemon since you say that you're a human?" asked Ember. River thought for a moment, but came to a conclusion he did not expect.

"Truth is I don't remember at all." said River but for some reason was grinning a little bit. "And the worst part is that I actually just realized I became a pokemon when I woke up just now."

"That sucks." said Ember. "Sorry to hear that." River just smiled a little bit in response saying it's alright. Ember then thought for a minute thinking about something and realized something about River. "Hey River do you need a place to stay?" River immediately picked up on what was going on.

"No I don't think it's a good idea that much." said River. "I don't want to burden you with myself. Plus I'm a total stranger to you."

"Don't worry it's fine." said Ember smiling. "You won't be a burden at all in the sort. And also for some reason, I have this feeling that you're a good person. So you can be trusted."

"Alright, I'll trust your judgment." said River. "Lead the way then."

"With pleasure." said Ember. "By the way I love the necklace you have on." Riolu looked down and saw his necklace that was a black cross that had silver on the edges, a silver dot on each of the four ends, and in the middle of the cross was a silver smaller version of the black cross that was embedded on it. The strap holding the cross was a very small black chain that was very long in length. You could easily remove the necklace just by sliding it off of River's head.

"Why thank you very much." said River. "This is my-" River stopped mid-sentence and realized something. River quickly picked up the cross from his necklace and stared at it.

"_How did this get here with me? I know that I was sleeping with this on last night but, I never expected it to be here with me still around my neck." _River then clutched the cross in his hand. _"I really hope I don't lose this while I'm here. It's more important to me than anyone can even imagine."_

"What were you gonna say River?" asked Ember. River then got out of his little confusion and finished what he was going to say earlier.

"This is my favorite necklace and it's very important to me." said River. "My mother gave this to me on my 11th birthday."

"Oh I can see why it's so important now." said Ember smiling. "Anyway, why don't we go now to my place and I can show you around."

"Sure that sounds great." said River. River then got up from his sitting position and started to walk towards Ember. But River stopped after a few steps. He looked down at his feet and was in disbelief about what he was doing right now.

"_Am I doing what I think I'm doing right now?" _asked River to himself still staring at his feet. River then lift one leg up and moved his foot around. River stared wide eyed at his moving foot and leg. _"That's impossible, there's no way this is happening right now. Am I seriously…." _Ember realized that River wasn't following her so she looked behind her shoulder and looked at River with an odd confused look. River was jumping around the beach along with running around in circles. _"I can't believe that I can do all this. I wonder if I could do that." _River then started dancing rapidly with his legs shuffling like mad.

"River, just what the heck are you doing right now?" asked a confused Ember.

"Nothing." said River abruptly stopping his dancing. Ember laughed a little to himself and thought it was cute River getting embarrassed. "I'll just tell you about it later." said River with his head down. His head down blocked River's sad face. Ember could tell that River got a little sad saying that last sentence.

"_Maybe I shouldn't have asked him that last question. I may have asked something I shouldn't have."_ Ember then decided to change the subject. "Why don't we go to my place now and we can get to know each other a little bit when we get there."

"Yeah, that sounds great." said River. They then headed off to Ember's house. Along the way, Ember tried getting to know River more.

"So how old are you?" asked Ember

"I'm 16 years of age." said River. "What about you?"

"What a coincidence, I'm 16 as well." said Ember. "I thought that you were slightly younger than me."

"Well you thought wrong then." said River grinning. "It's good to know that we're the same age."

"That's true." said Ember. "So what's it like being human?"

"Well, being a human has its ups and downs. Kind of hard to explain." said River "What's it like being a pokemon?"

"Most of the time it's really fun." said Ember. "Watch this." Ember then faced away from River and shot out a blast of fire from her mouth. River only stared at Ember who turned completely white at the moment. Ember turned back to River and asked a little excited like "What did you think of that?" Her excited mood went away when she saw River's pale white colored face. "Are you ok?"

"I-I-I'm f-f-fine." River managed to say who was a little scared at the moment.

"_Note to self, never get a pokemon angry while I'm here." _said River in his mind. _"Most likely I won't live anymore if I get one angry." _

"Are you surprised by the fire that I just made?" River just nodded yes. "Are humans not able to do stuff like this?" River nodded no. Ember then realized what was going on. "Oh dear god I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I should've asked if humans can do stuff like this." River calmed down a little bit and said.

"It's fine, you didn't know at all." said River. "But that was really cool on a side note. What kind of things can I do as a Riolu? I can tell that I won't be able to do fire abilities like you."

"You'll figure out what you can do in a little bit in a training room at my place. So that way you'll be able to know exactly what your abilities are. It's best to put your body to work rather than listen to a boring speech about them." said Ember.

"Oh, so you know what I can do?" asked Riolu.

"Yes that is correct." said Ember. "Here, we're almost at my place so you'll figure out your abilities soon enough."

River and Ember walked for only a few more minutes and then arrived in front of Ember's house. Well actually, it was more like a big rock hill that had three floors and had windows to let in sunlight.

"Holy cow!" said a shocked River. "I've never seen a house like this before. How did you get it like that?"

"Well truth is, it was like this when we found it." said Ember.

"We?"

"Me, my older sister Blaze, and My older brother Guren." said Ember. "We're a normal happy family living by ourselves."

"That's good to hear." said River. _"Best if I don't ask anything about her parents. It's most likely private to her." _River and Ember then entered the cave like hill and headed toward the training room Ember was talking about. When River and Ember got there, River's eyes went wide in amazement on what he saw.

"So are you ready to know your own abilities as a pokemon?" asked a smiling Ember.

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And chapter 2 is finally done. Sorry for taking like a month to update. I'm busy working on my Bleach fanfiction. That story is the one I'm most dedicated to right now at this moment. But when I'm done with that (Which won't be for a long time from now) I'll focus on this story more. Anyway I hope I did good on this chapter for you all out there reading this story. Please review if you like my story or you have positive criticism for me that would be a little appreciative to me. This is the Holy Writer signing out.


	3. Chapter 3

Pokemon CH. 3: Training

"HOLY CRAP THIS PLACE IS HUGE! THIS WAS BEHIND YOUR HOUSE?" River who had become a Riolu could only stare at what he saw. In front of River was an extremely large valley. There was mostly grass around him with large hills, a couple trees in a couple of random places, and a clear view of a mountain that was quite a ways away. Never in River's life has he ever seen anything like this. "This place is amazing. Was this really behind your house? I didn't see this when I was in front of it."

"It really is amazing isn't it?" said Ember grinning at River's reaction. "Do you have anything like this where you're from?"

"Where I live no. but there are some places where it's like this nearby. Truth is I've never seen one in person. I only saw valleys like this in pictures."

"That explains your excited reaction to this."

"Shut up." River said a little embarrassed.

"Hey don't be embarrassed, you're just excited, there's nothing wrong with that. It's actually good to be excited about something in life, especially if you've never seen anything like this." River walked a couple steps forward across the valley and slowly sped up as time went on. Eventually River found himself sprinting across the valley.

"_This is amazing." _said River in his mind. _"I can't believe I'm able to do this. It feels great." _River looked behind him and saw Ember trying to catch up with him.

"I knew that Riolu's were fast but you're quick for a human that turned into one. Were you one of the fastest runners at your place? " River slowed down when Ember asked that question. Ember noticed this when she caught up to River and saw a face that looked down. "Is something wrong?" River snapped out of his down feeling and put on a smile when facing Ember.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just felt a little tired for a second and I wanted to take my time for a second." Ember knew that River faked that smile. She just went with the flow. "I'll tell you about it later. It's obvious that you knew something was wrong. I guess I'm not a good at hiding what I'm thinking."

"Take all the time you need. Here, why don't we spar for a bit? Come at me with your best shot." River stopped running when he heard that last sentence.

"Wait what?" River freaked out for a second. "You want me to attack you?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine."

"Not what I'm worried about." said River

"Let me guess, you won't fight a girl?"

"Yes that's correct." said River

"Honestly I don't care about that right now, were just sparring. So please don't hesitate."

"If you say so, I apologize if I hurt you." River then ran to Ember and got a foot ready for a kick. Just before River was just about to make contact when all of a sudden, Ember knocked River's kick away with a simple swat from her back leg. River fell over from just a simple swat and landed on his behind. Both River and Ember were both surprised when this happened.

"_What the heck just happened?" _said a confused Ember in her mind. _"I was just seeing how strong he was but I had no idea that he could be knocked down that easily." _River quickly tried to get up but the moment he got on two feet and took his first step, he instantly fell and landed on his face.

"Ummmmm, are you alright?" Ember asked a little concern.

"I'm fine!" said River abruptly which made Ember jump a little from River's sudden outburst. River got up after that last sentence. But he once again took only one step and fell down once again on his face.

"Owwwwww." River groaned in pain. _"I guess I'm not used to using these legs yet. I'm just surprised that I can use my legs in this world."_

"Hey River, are you sure you're alright?" River looked up to Ember who wanted to know what was going on. "I can tell that something is going on with you. If you want to talk about it I'm all ears. You can take your time though. There's no rush."

"I'm fine." said River sighing. "Thank you for your concern. I'll tell you another time. It's just a private matter right now." River then got up and sat down. "Why don't we spar later? I just want to get used to a body like this."

"I respect that." said Ember. She then sat down next to River relaxed while they looked at the magnificent view surrounding them. They sat in silence for an hour before River broke the silence.

"How long have you lived in a place like this?" River asked

"Me and my brother and sister have been here since I was very little. I think 3 or 4. I can't remember for sure. But it was rare for us to play here. We mostly played together on the beach."

"Which one?" River asked

"The one where I found you at earlier today. That place was our own private get together place. Then as we got older my older bro and sis became members of their own exploration teams."

"Exploration teams?"

"You don't know what an exploration team is?" River nodded no. "No way? Well an exploration team usually has 2-4 pokemon in a group that explores unknown places locations around the world. And that's only one of the main things exploration teams do daily. They also help in the arrest on outlaws that the police are after." River was amazed with what he was hearing. "There are also a couple other things that exploration teams do but I'll tell you about them later. There's a guild that pokemon go to if they want to become a member of an exploration team. Ever since my bro and sis joined that guild, we all trained together in this field learning how to fight and use our abilities. And right now they are part of their own teams and we all hardly play together. Actually we even don't really see each other that much anymore. Oh what am I doing? I'm rambling on about my personal problems to you. And we just met. What the heck is wrong with me?"

"Hey it's fine. I don't have a problem with it." River said giving a comforting smile. "I've have my share of personal problems to and I think it's fair that I share mine as well."

"Oh I don't think-"

"It's fine." River said interrupting Ember. "Plus it's something that you were wondering about a couple times today."

"Oh!" Ember remembered River dancing around on the beach and he was acting down not too long ago.

"Well if you want to, go right ahead."

"Well, I'll go straight to it." Ember was very curious on what River had to say. "Where I'm from, I can't use my legs at all and it's been that way since I was very little."

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And here you go, chapter 3 is finally up. I know it's been soooooo long since my last update. But don't worry, this story is not dead, it's alive and kicking. I've just not really found the time to write this story lately. But I promise you readers 100% that I will be updating at least once or twice a month. That much you can all look forward to. Also to be honest, I don't really think that this chapter is really my best work, especially if this is a short chapter. So I'll understand if you review saying that this chapter has a bunch of mistakes. Chapter 4 will be better. I promise. Anyway please review and this is the Holy Writer signing out.

Oh yeah, one more thing, XxDark-WriterXx you're correct, I am your archenemies so you better Remember me LOL.


	4. Chapter 4

CH. 4 River's story

"You can't use your legs at all?" Ember asked completely shocked. River sadly nodded yes. "But you can use them normally right now. Just what the heck happened?"

"I don't know myself." said River shrugging his shoulders. "When I was 5 years old, an accident happened that paralyzed my legs."

"What do you mean?" Ember was afraid to hear the cause of this.

"I was involved in a car accident with my family. We were on our way to my aunt and uncle's house to celebrate my cousin's 10th birthday. We were at a red light at an intersection and when it was our turn to go, another car came out of nowhere and rammed right at us. We were all lucky to have all survived that day. I was the luckiest out of everyone to have survived since I was so young. But it did come with a price. I ended up having a spinal cord injury that day. The injury resulted in me being paralyzed from the waist down. You have no idea how lucky I was to survive an accident like that. Usually people that young die as soon as an accident like that hits." Ember had a sad look on her face after hearing that. She couldn't believe she just heard that.

"River, I'm really sorry. It must've been hard for you to be like that all those years. I can't imagine pain like that. It's because I've never seen any pokemon with paralyzed legs before. I have heard that it's extremely rare for a pokemon to have paralyzed legs. I've just never seen one before. But at least you and your whole family survived. How did you go around going around to places in a condition like that?"

"I just sat in a wheelchair and used that to move myself around. It really stunk in the beginning. I nearly just gave up right there. But my older brother helped me back up. He's the reason why I'm still going today."

"Well that's what older brothers are for." Ember said with a small smile on her face. "I hardly see my brother anymore. I really do miss him. You're lucky that your brother doesn't spend so much time away from home."

"Well, right now my older brother is in college now so I don't get to see him that often either. I only get to see him when he's on vacation. And that's only after every once in a while. But I don't mind."

"Don't you miss your brother though? Why do you not mind?" River smirked slightly before answering.

"Because as long as he comes back to visit every once in while, I'm perfectly fine with it. He has his own life to live, his own dreams to fulfill. I don't want him to give it all up just because of me. I can't be selfish." Ember was taken back slightly after hearing that.

"_Is that how I've been acting with my brother and sister lately? Have I been only thinking of myself?" _

"River, I'm really sorry to hear that happened to you at such a young age. No one should go through that much pain."

"It's fine. Life is what it is. The point is to have fun with it. And I view life as a wonderful thing. I'm lucky to have a good family to be with right now. I'm lucky to be alive today."

"Hey River, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?" River saw ahead of them that the sun was just about to set and the sky started to change color slightly from blue to pink.

"Can I ask you what the heck are a car and a wheelchair? I've never heard of those things before." River sweat dropped. "So can you tell me?"

"Ummmmmm…" River tried to find an easy way to explain it to Ember. "Well a wheelchair is something that some people use to move around when they can't use their legs. Basically it's a chair with two large wheels on each side of the chair. We have to manually use our hands to move the chair."

"Wow, that's cool. I'm not saying it's amazing, but it's cool to learn about."

"I get it. It's fine." River really thought about how to explain about a car. _"Ok, now this is gonna be a tricky one. I've never explained what a car is before because everyone knew about one. Now Ember is asking what one is." _After much thinking, River got an answer. "Ok, this isn't the best explanation but, a car is something people use for faster transportation. It's a lot faster than walking by a landslide." Ember was really interested in hearing this. "It's very vague I know. But the best I can come up with."

"Oh you're ok." Ember said while laughing slightly. "I'm not the greatest when explaining things either. Tell me though, how is it you can move your legs now?"

"I don't know. I woke up today as a riolu and they were all better. But it seems that I'm not entirely used to them yet. I tripped a couple times while walking today."

"_Now that I think about it, that does explain why River's kick had no bite to it. I only felt a small tap." _Ember said in her head. She then focused her attention back to River. "I guess you'll have to do some exercises so you can use your legs normally. Try running with me and keeping up with the pace. We should start with the basics." River then got up from sitting down. But he fell down on his behind after the first few seconds.

"Dang it!" River shouted as he fell down. "That hurt. Earlier I could walk easily. Walking is harder than it looks since I've been sitting in a chair for 11 years. Do you mind helping me up Ember?" Ember nodded yes.

Ember walked to River and put her head under River's right arm. River gently grabbed Ember's head to keep himself up. Once River got to his feet, he tried to walk a couple steps forward. He wobbled after a couple steps and almost fell. Ember caught River right at the last second and helped him back up.

"Don't worry, I've got you." said Ember. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. You just aren't strong enough to walk on your own yet. I might've knocked you away too hard which made things that much harder." River grinned before responding.

"True. I did this once before, I can do it again I'll just imagine myself as an newborn all over again." Ember grinned at River's joke. River let go of Ember again and tried walking a few steps. Ember stayed close to River for insurance. She could tell that River was nervous. _"Ok River, I can do this. There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just walking all over again." _River almost lost his balance a couple times but he managed to catch himself. "Alright, I'm doing good so far. I think I can continue on for a while longer." Just then, River tripped and fell on his face.

"_I think he just jinxed himself." _Ember said in her head. River groaned while getting up. He had to use his arms to help himself up. His legs were tried. Ember saw that River was panting slightly.

"Dang, this really is hard. How was it easier for me when I was only 1 year old?" Ember thought for a second. She then got an idea.

"River, wait right here. I'll be right back." Ember than ran off. She had a look on her face that showed she was pretty sure of her idea. _"I know that this will work perfectly." _After Ember left, River tried to get up once again. But he quickly fell again.

20 Minutes Later

Ember was running across the large valley back to River with something on her back. It looked like a stick with a wide U on top of it.

"_River can use this stick for support for the time being. I can't believe I still have this. I hope this works." _When Ember finally got back to River, she had an excited look on her face. "Hey there River, I brought this stick that you can use it to hold yourself up until you're comfortable walking on your own." When Ember finished talking, her eyes went wide when she looked at River. River was on the ground exhausted on his face painting.

"Hey River, you okay?" Ember shouted with worry in her voice. "Don't push yourself too hard like that. You can seriously hurt yourself."

"I'm (HUFF) fine. I'm really out of shape. (HUFF) I can't believe it's this hard just to walk. (HUFF) So tell me, what were you doing?" Ember then removed the stick that was on her back and set it on the ground.

"I went to go get this oddly shaped stick that I found when I was younger. I'm honestly surprised that I still have it. I meant to throw it away a couple days ago. You came at a good time."

"Where did you find this?" River asked out of curiosity. "I've never seen a stick look like that before."

"I found it several years ago nearby my house and I've been keeping it in my room this whole time. I honestly can't remember why I've been keeping all this time. Although, I don't know if this will fit you or not. It might be a little too tall for a riolu."

"Well do you know the height of a riolu?"

"Riolu's average height are 2'4." River's was shocked to hear that.

"You're saying that Riolu's are only near two and a half feet tall? No human is that short. The shortest human I've ever seen is 4'10."

"Wow humans are tall. What's the tallest human you've ever seen?"

"I believe 6'7. But It's extremely rare for someone to be that tall. Average human's height is around 5'9 or 5'10 I think."

"Well pokemon evolve eventually and Riolu's evolve into Lucario's which are 4 feet tall. So it won't be that bad after a while. But you should try that stick and hope it works as a crutch." River shrugged and went to the U shaped stick. He picked it up and put the U under his armpit. When he put the flat end of the stick on the ground, he stood up and he easily balanced his weight on the stick which was perfect for him. Ember was surprised a little.

"Wow, I didn't expect that to work out. Now that actually look, you do look a little taller than an average Riolu. We can measure you later though. Walk around with it and see if it's to your liking." River nodded and walked several steps forward. He wasn't completely used to a crutch so he moved very slowly to get used to it. Eventually he got the gist of it. "I knew this would work out well." Ember said happily.

"And you were right." River said with a smirk on his face and chuckling. "This will be a temporary fix for me. I'm already excited for the day that I can go without a crutch." River then realized something. _"Wait, Ember knows what crutch is but she doesn't know what a wheelchair is? That's interesting. Oh well, I guess I should get used to my new body. Who knows, perhaps It won't be that bad for now." _

"Wow, look at the sun. It's already so close to setting." River looked across the valley and sure enough, the sun was half way from going down completely. River could still see the sun despite himself having to squint his eyes to adjust. He was surprised with what he saw.

"_Amazing, I never saw a sunset this cool before. How is it that I never watched them in the first place?" _

"Want to watch the rest of the sunset with me?" Ember asked. River nodded yes while still looking at the sun.

"I think that is a nice idea. I'll be happy to." Ember grinned before laying down and facing the sun. River decided to stand and watch. He was ok with the position he was in. They watched the sunset in silence together and stayed like that for the next half hour. Once the sun was gone, ember broke the silence.

"How about I take you back to my place now? You must be getting tired." River yawned in response. Ember chuckled when he saw River's yawn. "Well that answers my question."

"Oh shut up." River said in a kidding tone. "And are you sure its ok for me to hang around at your house like a stranger? I don't want to be a burden or anything."

"You won't be a burden. And plus you are not a stranger to me. You seem like a nice guy so it won't hurt. I have a good feeling to be honest. I just don't know what my older brother or sister will say. I'm pretty sure they won't mind. I just need to persuade them is all." Ember said that last sentence with a grin on her face. River grinned back along with laughing slightly.

"Shall we be on our way then?' River asked. Ember got up from the ground and started walking with River slowly coming behind her. Ember had to walk slowly so River stay close to her. River knew that he was being slow so he tried to pick up the pace.

It worked out just fine until River wasn't looking what was in front of him and tripped over a rock with his crutch. Ember caught River from hitting the ground at the last second. She helped River back to his feet which River quickly managed to do with Ember's help.

"You don't have to rush yourself. Take your time when walking. There's no rush at all." Ember said with a smile.

"Sorry, I saw that I was really slow and you had to wait for me so I wanted to pick up the pace and stay with you." River smiled back at Ember. "It's funny though, earlier today I was able to run and dance around like normal. But now after our spar, it really made them weak. I guess it's way too soon to do crazy stuff with them. I'll only start walking till my legs get stronger."

"I think a good night's sleep will return them to normal. They'll heal quickly. And Riolu's are fighting type pokemon so you'll have a lot of energy to use. It will easily give you the proper strength you need in order to use your legs like normal. You just need to be patient is all."

"I'm usually a really patient person but I don't think I can wait for something like this. I still can't believe my legs are usable now. I'm truly excited for this." Ember laughed a little with River. "Yeah, just a little longer is all."

It was night by the time River and Ember got back to Ember's house. They walked in the entrance and Ember turned on the light. River looked around Ember's house that was in a cave. It didn't look that bad for a cave. River guessed that they were in the living room because of the chairs, couch, and window. (Author's notes: Remember, the pokemon's furniture is completely different from ours. Since you've played pokemon mystery dungeon, you'll know what they look like in the game.)

"_I never thought the inside of a cave can look this nice. I'm impressed. It must've taken Ember and her siblings a long time to make it this nice." _

"Well, this is where I live right now. Caves are common for pokemon to live in. But I like mind a lot. You can go ahead and take a look around. Just don't make a huge mess of things." River walked forward and turned his head sideways to see where he was going to be sleeping in tonight. It didn't look that bad. There were large patches of grass on the ground instead of it being stone. There were hallways to different rooms. River counted 4 of them. There was even a stair case that River guessed was handmade.

"Your house looks pretty cool Ember. I never thought anyone could build a house this nice in a large cave. I'm really impressed."

"Thank you." said ember with a smile. "It looked a lot worse than this. Were just surprised that were able to make large windows like this. It lets people know that we are not hermits." River laughed at that last sentence. "I honestly like it here. But I know that I won't be staying here forever. Well, not daily though. I plan on becoming a member of an exploration team one day like my brother and sister. It's always been my dream to go out there in the world and do things some pokemon can only imagine. Pokemon at the youngest go in to the exploration team guild at the age of 13."

"Really? They plan on going out there in the world that young? They must be really dedicated."

"You have no idea." Ember said with a grin.

"Why is it that you haven't tried being a member of an exploration team yourself? If pokemon can go in that early then you could've gone in and signed up long ago." Ember became a little down from that last question.

"Do you promise not to laugh?" Ember asked with her head down and her ears drooped.

"Why would I laugh?" River asked out of curiosity. Ember was silent. "Ok, ok, I promise I won't laugh. What is it though?"

"Well… It's just that…" Ember started to fiddle with her paws. She was really starting to get shy. "I'm …" Ember whispered that last part which made River unable to hear.

"You're what? You need to speak louder."

"I'm afraid ok?" Ember shouted. River jumped slightly from the sudden outburst. "I'm afraid of going alone and embarrassing myself."

"What do you mean? I understand the part about not wanting to go alone, by why are you afraid to embarrass yourself?"

"… Well, compared to me, Guren, Blaze, I'm the screw up of the trio. And don't say 'No you aren't.' I really am the screw up of us three." River didn't know what to say. And he felt bad about it.

"I'm sure you aren't that bad. You must be over reacting about this."

"Ever accidently broken a shopping store before?" River suddenly became stiff with slight fear.

"_Is she serious?" _River ponded that in his mind numerous times that second. _"What did she do? She doesn't seem like the person to do something like that. I don't believe it." _

"Yeah that's what I thought." said Ember in a sad tone. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"You don't have to if you don't want to. I don't force people to tell about their personal matters. It makes people uncomfortable. So don't tell me if you don't want to." Ember smiled slightly after that last sentence from River.

"Thank you, I really appreciate that." Ember wasn't facing River when she said that but River could tell that Ember was smiling.

*GROOOOOOOOOOOOOWL*

River and Ember were silent when they heard that loud noise. But after a few minutes, they broke into laughter. It took them a few minutes before they calmed down enough to talk.

"HAHAHAHAHA, I didn't realize how hungry I really was." River said with a grin stuck on his face." Before Ember could say something back, her stomach growled loud as well.

"You're not the only one." Ember said with a wide grin on her face as well. "How about I prepare us a large dinner tonight? The only thing I've eaten is breakfast.

"I doubt I've eaten anything today to be honest. So I wouldn't mind having some good food tonight. What is on the menu tonight?"

"Allow me to surprise you young River."

"Did you really just say that?" River asked in a kidding like tone. Ember picked up that River was just messing around.

"Yes I just did. What're gonna do about it?" Ember was taunting River to go on. River had a grin on his face.

"Tell me, when did you turn 16?" River asked.

"I turned 16 last April. When did you turn 16?"

"Last February. So I'm older than you by two months. So eat it!" Ember just stuck her tongue out at River is a playful way. River just laughed slightly. "So you ready to eat or what? I'm starving."

"Yep, I'll just get things ready. And then we can eat at last."

"YES!" After that, Ember got everything that was needed. They both enjoyed a huge feast that they both ate like a pack of hungry wolves. They did breathe every once in a while. They just wanted to fill up their bellies up as much as they could. River was surprised that the food pokemon eat was so amazing. A lot of the food looked like fruit. River ate like crazy after his taste test. After eating the big feast, River and Ember had full stomachs and decided to go to sleep for the rest of the night.

"Well, this is where you will be sleeping." Ember made River a bed to sleep in that was on the other side of Ember's room. River didn't have to worry about accidently rolling into Ember's bed since they were quite a ways away. "What do you think?" River smiled before answering.

"This looks really good. And thanks again for letting me stay here for now. I would probably be lost if it wasn't for you."

"Your very welcome. I'm happy to help out a friend. Why don't we get some shut eye now? Agreed?"

"Agreed."

After that, River laid himself down on the bed that Ember made. It was surprisingly soft. River thought it he would feel slight discomfort because of the rock hard ground they were sleeping over. But he was at least glad he had somewhere to sleep.

"Comfy?" Ember asked after getting in her own bed. River nodded yes and moved over to his right side to get comfortable. "Well, if you need to ask any questions. Don't be afraid to wake me up and ask. But only if they are important ok."

"Ok, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for all your help."

"My pleasure." said Ember. She then blew out a candle that was in Ember's room. After that, they both went to sleep.

River however, could not sleep. Several hours went by and River has not slept a wink.

"_This is all so strange. I'm surprised that I still remember who I am. Usually things like this that happen to people make them lose their memory. But that's not what I'm worried about right now. There are bigger things I need to worry. Why did I turn into a pokemon? Why am I able to move my paralyzed legs again? Where am I? And why…" _River then lifted his cross necklace to where it was front of his face. _"Is my necklace here with me right now? I just don't see why this would come with me." _He then gripped it in his hands. _"I better not lose this. Better yet, I better not let this leave off of my neck. I seriously can't lose it." _

"You still awake River?" River nearly jumped from Ember's voice all of a sudden coming up. He rustled a little bit responding to Ember. Ember grinned. It was too dark to see but Ember could tell that River was still up based on the noise. "I thought so. You must have a lot of questions on your mind that you're asking yourself. I'm curious about you though. You were a human and then you turned into a pokemon. I can't explain that to you or any other of the questions you have but, I promise you that I will help you uncover those answers for yourself. I really do promise. I want to help. I'll be your guide while you stay here. I'll help you out thick and thin. That's my promise to you." There was a small silence but River eventually said,

"Thank you." Ember smiled after she heard that. "And I promise you I'll help you out in any way I can. If you're struggling with something, I'll be there for you."

"…" Ember was silent but she still had a smile on her face. She then got a little nervous. "Hey River, remember the exploration teams I told you about earlier today?"

"Yeah."

"… Well,… I was wondering if maybe you'd be willing to be on an exploration team with me? I refuse to go in alone. I know this is a sudden question. So I'll understand if you say no." There was a long silence in the air. Ember quickly regretted asking that question. _"I probably shouldn't have asked. I'm asking someone new to me. Most likely he has no interest. I was naïve thinking he'd say yes." _Ember then decided to go back to sleep. but after a few more minutes went by,

"Sure, why not?'" Ember was surprised to hear that. "I've got nothing to do so joining an exploration team sounds exciting. I might as well enjoy my time as a Riolu while I still have it. So yes, I'd be happy to become part of an exploration team. Count me in." River chuckled after talking. Ember was surprised to hear that answer come out of River's mouth. She expected him to say no but she didn't expect in a million years that River, a human said yes to Ember. Ember was overjoyed that he said yes. She was so overjoyed that she said with a smile on her face before going to sleep,

"Thank you."

* * *

Ok, first of all I'm sooooooooooooooooo sorry for taking way too long to update this story. I have zero excuses. I just wasn't as motivated to write this story. I was more motivated to write my very first fanfiction story ever that I posted online. Once again, I'm really sorry. One of the main reasons I decided to now update is because a couple reviews motivated me to write again. So I thank those few people for reviewing my story. It means a lot to me. And I hope that you continue to review this story in the future.

Please, please, please update. I seriously want to know how I'm doing. If I get reviews then it will motivate me to write more. I don't know when chapter 5 will be up but I'm pretty sure it will be A LOT sooner than this update. Please review this story, spread the word about me, and this is the Holy Writer signing out and saying good day to everyone.


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